Sonakshi Sinha

Sonakshi Sinha has abandoned her Saree Ke Faall sa act and she ain't scared of thappad or pyar or anything in between. Full points to her for trying something new, alas; there is nothing new in Akira that we haven’t seen. It’s almost like they replaced Sunny in Ghayal with Sonakshi in Akira.

Don’t get me wrong. The film was gripping in the first half. There is nothing sexier than a woman kicking some serious butts, but it slips into Singham mode way too easily and way too quickly. You applaud the fight sequences for the first time, cheer for her the second time, get bored soon and feel like kuch bhi dot com towards the end of it.

Akira is an interesting story about a young, feisty woman who lands in a sticky situation. The first half shows slight potential and we hope it to lead to a spectacular second half where the bone crushing Akira would come face to face with the badass ACP Rana (Anurag Kashyap) and the popcorn in my bucket will become crunchier and crispier. Alas, I cried at the improbability of the second half so badly that tears rolled down my popcorn adding more NaCl to the snack and making them soggier. Tch. Tch.

There are so many things that happen in Akira, things that look grave, demand all your attention but are forgotten conveniently. Bhai yeh Akira hain ya Ghajini.

A man with 800 million rupees dies in a car accident. And he was an important man. Damn importance. He had money, crazy stash of cash. Nobody seems to bother.

A woman dies in an apartment and there are no follow ups.

Then I wondered why they celebrated world disability day? Why would a family disown a daughter because some random doctor suggested mental disorder in fancy jargon? And why was Konkana Sen Sharma’s character pregnant? What is the connection, bro?

And then the clichés. Oh man the clichés. In every Ghayal, Damini kind of film, we need to have a bechari maa, an upright papa, an honest professor, some college goons and some deo-deprived policemen!! And guys, no bullets in my gun at a crucial moment is so 1980s. Like really!?

Paaapaa I feel so bad for Sonakshi. I mean here she is trying hard to break the ghagra-choli image and all she gets are scenes where she has to give ‘the look’. You know the typical Bollywood look where curly locks hide your face and your dreamy eyes turn red in the name of Bollywood intensity. She looks more like Undertaker in Fab India. And then she staggers her way, because all people under sedation can’t walk straight. Yes and all people under sedation can beat an entire army of police to a frigging pulp with much precision and alertness. Yes, that makes sense, sure!

Anurag Kashyap as the mean cop looks menacing and evokes disgust. His introductory scene of him rolling a joint looks like an ode to his own film Dev D.

The best thing about Akiraa is that she can fight. She could be sedated, bleeding, sleeping, dying, but she singlehandedly beats everyone to a pulp because, hey, she is shown learning karate in school for two days. Well, when bhai can train for 2 hours and win an Olympic gold in Sultan, why can’t our women achieve the impossible. I am just happy. The film ended. And the weekend started.

THE RATINGS MEAN:

5 stars: Loved it. (This could make to top ten movies you must watch before you die!)4 stars: Liked it. Recommend it. (This will help you sound intellectual and give you stuff to add at water cooler conversations.)3 stars: Didn’t hurt. Watch it once.2 stars: It put me to sleep. Watch it if you are an insomniac or a newly wedded couple. Winks!1 star: Do I even need to explain this?